Marguerite Maury – ‘How to Dowse’
Lesson 1. Pendulum and Rods
“When we hold a pendulum over certain objects correctly — that is to say, between the thumb and first finger of the right hand by a thread of suitable length (2-1/2 – 4 inches) — it will start moving.
“A pendulum can be made of wood (box for choice), metal, glass or some ‘neutral’ substance, of which bak-elite and plastic are particularly suitable. It should be round or symmetrical in shape. Metal pendulums should only be used for particular objects, as they respond more readily to certain definite influences. For instance, an iron pendulum is particularly sensitive to magnetic fields, whilst one of copper is susceptible to even minute electric changes. Several special pendulums have been devised, such as Turenne’s, which is fitted with magnetised needles; that of Abbe Mermet made of ebonite and hollow inside to hold a ‘sample’.
“The suspension of a pendulum should be made with a thread of silk, cotton, hemp, gut or better still, nylon, as it has no initial torsion.
“Our task is to learn how to use a pendulum, and to analyse and interpret its movements. The accompanying figure will show you how to hold it when making a search. Just as a violin and its bow cannot be held just anyhow, so a pendulum must be held in a certain way. Even when held wrongly, a pendulum performs certain movements, sometimes very violent ones, but without a good technique you will never be able to claim that your result must be correct. Let us, then, at the outset try to analyse the pendulum’s movements.
“In principle, a pendulum hanging on a string from a support of, say, wood or metal is inert. It is subject to two forces which, in accordance with the well-known laws of physics, keep it in a straight line. If now a human being should take a string in his hand, replacing the material by a living support — the hands and fingers of the operator — the weight will infringe all laws of physics and start to move. The movement may take two forms, either oscillation or gyration. It therefore appears that the force of gravity is temporarily suspended. When the process of detection is prolonged, the pendulum stops at a certain instant and radiesthetists call this phenomenon ‘saturation’, but we rather believe that the stopping of the pendulum marks the extreme limit of the ability of the human organism to withdraw the weight from the laws of gravitation.
“It is always the visible rupture of this equilibrium between the two forces which influences the pendulum. Its round shape induces the gyratory movement in one direction or the other – but this is another problem which we will study in our second lesson. For the moment we merely want you to realise that the pendulum when correctly held in front of a certain object really starts to move.
“When you hold your pendulum in front of two bodies of different masses or of different volumes, for example one of 2oz and the other 8oz, whatever the material may be, your pendulum will be more strongly affected by the larger mass.
“It should be noted that a pendulum in the hand of even an only slightly sensitive operator will always move, for various reasons, which we will not go into now. For the moment we will confine ourselves to the movement itself, bearing in mind that the mass and the volume of the body examined have an influence on the amplitude, and consequently on the violence of the movement.
“What we require is a moderate and steady movement. Since you are using your body as an instrument of detection you should, whenever the movements of your pendulum are too violent, try to relax your muscles and take deep breaths; you will find that a restful condition of the body will ensure calm and methodical detection.
“You should never start the pendulum moving yourself; that is bad technique. On the contrary, the muscles should be completely relaxed, for if they are in a state of tension you will obtain no response, or if you do get one it will be jerky and useless for any accurate detection. Do not think about your hand moving, for the weight of the pendulum, small though it be, enforces a movement of the hand in its relaxed state; if you resist it in an attempt to keep the hand steady you will only prevent it from moving.
“During a radiesthetic detection the operator must be entirely relaxed physically and from the mental point of view, only moderately interested. It is better to think of something else and maintain an attitude of complete indifference towards the end desired. In this way he will get the best results. We have always noticed that eager beginners who, in a laudable desire to act correctly, get into a state of tension and nearly hypnotise themselves by concentration, end up by enfeebling the pendulum’s movements or in stopping them altogether. “We can now lay down to principles: —
1. Weight exerts an influence on the pendulum which is appreciated as an increase in the mass of the pendulum when it is moved over an object, especially one which is radioactive.
This increase of the pendulum’s mass has been experienced by all radiesthetists; it has been actually proved and recorded during tests in our laboratory.
2. Bodies attract the pendulum in proportion to their mass.
———————– “We will now give you a few simple exercises to help you to handle the pendulum effectively.
1. (a) Take two weights and place them about 10 inches apart. Then hold the pendulum first over one, then over the other. Note the different amplitudes of its movements.
(b) Hold the pendulum between the two bodies and note to which it is drawn. These experiments should be made with the pendulum held about 2 inches above the level of the object examined. Do not forget that you are registering the field of influence of the object rather than the object itself.
2. Place two little balls of different sizes the same distance apart as before; go through the same exercises and note to which ball the pendulum is drawn.
3. Take two glass tumblers of the same size; fill one glass half-way and the other to the brim. Your pendulum will be drawn towards the full glass, because the volume of the water in it is the greater.
4. Take two glass tumblers of different sizes and fill them unequally with water; find out to which the pendulum is drawn the more strongly.” This procedure of a few pages of instruction on various aspects of practice, followed by exercises is adopted throughout the book. This may appear too simple at first, but a gradual experience of what transpires is of inestimable value to beginners.
“Form and Geometrical Figures”
“Radiesthetic detection is strongly influenced by ‘form’. That is the surprising fact which we are going to try to demonstrate in the course of this lesson.
“Form exercises an influence on detection in all types of work involving it. The form of the field to be detected, of the object to be discovered and of the receptacle in which the object or the body is contained all affect the question. For form in itself, either two-dimensional or three-dimensional, seems to produce a visible effect on the pendulum.
“We will first discuss plane geometrical figures because they are the simplest and offer the best examples.
“When we talk of form, we mean one possessing geometrical symmetry. It is by this that we can prove completely the reality of our contention, namely, that the pendulum, as well as the operator himself, are directly influenced by physical agents.
“A rectangle of the exact dimensions of the Golden Number, that is to say the proportion 0.618, for example, can be divided indefinitely into squares with a pendulum and that without any knowledge of mathematical technique. This can be done by any pendulist.
“With a little care a circle can be divided with the pendulum into ten, the ideal figure, corresponding to the Golden Number of Pythagoras.
“Angles of different sizes produce different effects. We think these phenomena may be due to the deviation of the earth’s magnetic field caused by these shapes and angles, so that what we detect is not the ‘form’ itself, but the effect it produces.
“Here we must again recall the laws of mathematics and mechanics. When a projectile strikes a shelter built like a cellar, that is to say with a pointed roof, the wall of the building is pierced; if, however, the cellar is arched the projectile follows the curve of the arc and is deflected. The emissions we detect, or rather the deviations of the magnetic fields, seem to follow the same laws.
“Moreover, every three-dimensional form, sphere, cube and ellipsoid gives out emissions in different directions.” Exercises follow:
“Draw a rectangle of the following dimensions; breadth 4 inches; length 7 inches. Follow a long side with the pendulum at a height of about 2 inches; it will at first oscillate along the line, but at a certain point will oscillate across it. Measure this distance. You will probably have traced a square.” Part I includes: Magnets and Magnetic Fields; Personal Field of the Operator; Interaction of Bodies; Light and Colour; Samples; Radiesthesia and Agriculture.